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7K views 17 replies 12 participants last post by  BrownsFan 
#1 ·
Oil Applicator

A while ago I posted a message about cleaning and taking care of your tools. In that thread MyronW talked about making an oil applicator out of PVC pipe. It sounded like a really good idea and I have been planning to make one for a while now.

Well I finally got about to making something. I think it's a little different than what MyronW talked about but still made out of pipe fittings you can get at any hardware store.

I used black ABS instead of PVC, but I don't think it really matters. I was just able to find the parts I wanted in ABS. I used 2" parts for this project, but you could use any size that meets your needs.

I bought: a 2" plug, 2" cleanout adapter and a 2" cap.

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For the oil applicator I used several layers of an old sheet and packed it with some pieces of sponge.

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I used some of the leftover sponge pieces to fill in the bottom of the applicator.

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After I got everything packed in, I made sure that the surface of the applicator was proud of the surface of the ABS fitting. I then gave it a good soak with Camellia Oil.

I then gave it a test drive on a new Shoulder Plane I just purchased. It worked really well. The whole applicator is small and easy to hold. I thought the big square "nut" on the plug was going get in the way, but really hasn't. Now I have nice oil applicator that will always be on or near my bench.

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#9 ·
Cleaning Saw Blades

After ripping a bunch of somewhat "wet" Douglas Fir for my workbench, the blade on my table saw was pretty gummed up. It was time for a good cleaning. When I clean my saw blades I keep it simple and use Simple Green. It's able to clean off most of what can get on a saw blade.

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I saturate both sides of the blade with Simple Green and let set for about 15 minutes. I then use an old toothbrush to scrub the residue off. I also use a glove, because the teeth are sharp and we want to work safe. Sometime for the tough stuff I use a Scotch Brite pad to scrub a little harder. For the most part it comes clean with the toothbrush. I didn't show it but I had planned to use some OptiCut-XL on the blade after cleaning it. I'm going to send this blade out to be sharpened, so I didn't treat the blade this time.

Here are some before pictures.

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After a little scrubbing the blade is good as new.

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As part of the cleaning I noticed I had lost a tooth along the way. I have a second blade, so I'll be sending this one out to be sharpened and have the tooth repaired.
 
#10 ·
thanks for the post. I've always used simple green but I've been using an acetone brush so i haven't got them that clean yet. a toothbrush gets it much cleaner as you showed here because of the stiffer bristles so i think that i'll use one next time my blade is in for a cleaning. thanks for the post.
 
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